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‘We didn’t know it was gonna go insane,” Sony Pictures Imageworks teams says of chart-topping projects.
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The people who worked on KPop Demon Hunters at Vancouver’s Sony Pictures Imageworks knew they were helping create something great. They had no idea it was going to be such a gargantuan hit.
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“We thought it was an absolutely beautiful, adorable, funny film, and it was just so perfectly crafted. But I don’t think anybody knew what it would turn into,” said SPI president Michelle Grady about Netflix’s Academy Award-winning (Best Animated Film and Best Original Song) KPop Demon Hunters. “I don’t know if anyone sees those things coming, but we’re just incredibly happy that it has. It’s so important for the team. We squirrel away for years on these films, and for the artists especially and the production folks, to have their work seen and celebrated all around the world is just mind blowing.”
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Some 500 Vancouver creatives worked for two years on KPop Demon Hunters, the animated musical fantasy film that follows international pop stars Mira, Rumi and Zoey, who live secret double lives protecting fans from soul-eating demons.
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Co-directed and co-written by Maggie Kang, who grew up in Toronto, and Chris Appelhans, KPop Demon Hunters began streaming on Netflix on June 20, 2025. By the end of that year, it was the most-watched original title in Netflix history, with more than 500 million views. A sing-along version of the film had limited theatrical releases and topped the box office. Four songs from the soundtrack simultaneously made the Top-10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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“We knew it was good. We didn’t know it was gonna go insane,” said Jacky Priddle, an SGI senior producer on KPop Demon Hunters, adding that the film was unique in style and form. “It’s really, really incredible. And that’s just the fact that we kind of made it in Vancouver. I don’t feel like many people know that, because, you know, it goes out, and the people, rightly, who get the main credit are the directors; it was their idea. It was their vision … We have like 100 animators who made those characters come to life, and they all did it in Vancouver, which I feel like we should really be celebrating.”
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When it comes to the sequel, Priddle says she knows “absolutely nothing,” except that it is being written now.
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“I would be thrilled to work on it,” said SPI Animation supervisor Adam Sarophim. “The team loved making it, so there’s gonna be no shortage of people with their hands in the air to work on the second one.”
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While still firmly in the afterglow of the success of KPop Demon Hunters, the Vancouver studio is deep into creating the third Spider-Verse film Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is due out in June 2027. Also in the pipeline is the Netflix animated film Charlie vs. The Chocolate Factory, due out sometime in 2027. On the VFX side of things, artists are putting the final touches on the live action Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which will hit theatres on July 31.
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Sarophim says the team at SPI is always looking to innovate as the Spider-Verse movies (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2018 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, 2023) clearly showed with the groundbreaking process it developed that merges 3D animation with classic 2D comic book aesthetics. The proprietary software allowed artists to hand-draw and paint frames to simulate the vintage look of the original comics. KPop Demon Hunters was revolutionary in its blending K-pop aesthetics with authentic Korean folklore. It also pushed boundaries by syncing the story to full-length songs.
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“The animation team is always looking for something new and fresh,” said Sarophim. “Everyone’s got kind of bold ideas about things they’ve never seen before, or new versions of things that they always wanted to make. And before Spider-Verse, I feel like the animation landscape was a little hesitant to invest in those kinds of things.”
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At the end of the day, it’s about ideas, says Sarophim.
“If someone has a cool idea, let’s really see it through and see what it looks like on the screen and see if we can make it real,” said Sarophim, who has worked at SPI for a decade. “There’s such a wholehearted embrace of every little ounce of creativity the team brings. It’s something special. I’ve worked in this industry a fair number of years, and I haven’t seen anything like it, and I’m very happy to be a part of it.”
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The global headquarters of Sony Pictures Imageworks moved from California to Vancouver and Pacific Centre in 1996. When the 10-year lease was up, they moved in January to the purpose-built 43,000 sq.- ft. offices and studios at The Post building in downtown Vancouver.
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“It is truly a creative technology hub in Vancouver,” said Grady, who has been heading up SPI for six years. “That is what gives big anchor studios like us the confidence to build out and stay, because it’s got all the elements of a hub, which is a density of talent.”
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Filled with cool Sony movie memorabilia, the new bright-and-modern facility — the coffee bar, complete with a barista, and the huge kitchen/lunchroom would not seem out of place in a design magazine — on any given day can accommodate 400 staff. SPI fluctuates between 800-1,400 staff depending on what’s being worked on.
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“We wanted a space that really felt like a creative studio, that celebrates our history, but really inspires the way we’re working today,” said Grady, adding that the staff was consulted during the design process for the new offices. “I just walked by, on my way here, three artists standing around a monitor, and one saying to the other artist, that’s really beautiful work. We wanted a space that felt like people could collaborate creatively or just bond.”
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That bonding can happen in the numerous meeting spaces and screening rooms that bear locally inspired names including Trout Lake, Vanier, Capilano, Lonsdale and Robson.
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The working model at SPI is basically a hybrid one where teams of staff book times to come in and work in the facility. The model, says Sarophim, is working great.
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“I think it’s healthier and better for everyone,” Sarophim notes. “Some people have families, kids, you got errands to run, or whatever, and we really encourage (staff members) to take care of yourself first, so that you’re bringing your best self to work.”
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SPI’s new offices come on the heels of Netflix Animation Studios unveiling a slick new Mount Pleasant facility in April and Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic opening its new Vancouver studios/offices in April 2025.
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“What Vancouver has is that we’ve got big anchor studios, global studios, like Sony, Disney, Netflix. But then there’s also over 100 studios, according to Creative B.C., that work on visual effects and animation in BC of all sizes,” said Grady. “You’ve got mid-tier studios working on, say, television or smaller films that provide a lot of opportunities for people who are coming up in their career … Then you’ve got startups, independents, driving innovation, and an entrepreneurial spirit.”
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The TV and film production business here in B.C. has its ups and downs. Things like strikes and global contraction have hurt the business. But thankfully, it looks to be building back. And Grady says the animation and VFX business hasn’t been hammered by the contraction in content creation.
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“We are fortunate to have not felt that fluctuation. We’re really busy, and being on the digital side of the business does make you a little bit immune to some of those fluctuations,” said Grady. “If you look at the top films over the last five to 10 years, they’re almost all either CG features or visual effects projects. So, we feel lucky to be working in that space.”
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SPI’s slate is said to be full for a couple of years in advance.
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“The work goes up and down depending on the season, but right now it seems pretty hot,” said Sarophim, adding that the provincial tax credit has been important. “People want to be here. There’s plenty of projects popping up, but we’ve got so many shows we’re having trouble crewing at times.
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“It’s fantastic. It’s so nice to just worry about making cool stuff and not hunting for my next job.”
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